Praise Song for the Day - a poem for President Obama
This is the poem that was commissioned and read today for the inauguration of President Obama. (I wrote it from her reading, and I'm no poet, so the punctuation is mine - please forgive, but enjoy!)
“Praise Song for the Day”
by Elizabeth Alexander
On the occasion of the inauguration of
President Barack Obama
Each day
We go about our business
walking past each other
catching each other’s eyes,
or not,
about to speak or speaking.
All about us is noise,
thorn and din.
Each one of our ancestors on our tongues.
Someone is stitching up a hem,
darning a hole in an uniform,
patching a tire,
repairing the things in need of repair.
Someone is trying to make music somewhere,
with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum
with cello,
boombox,
harmonica,
voice.
A woman and her son wait for the bus,
a farmer considers the changing sky
a teacher says, “take out you pencils, begin."
We encounter each other in words,
words spiny or smooth,
words whispered or declaimed,
words to consider,
reconsider.
We cross dirt roads and highways
that mark the will of someone
and then others that said,
“I need to see what’s on the other side.
I know there’s something better down the road.”
We need to find a place where we are safe.
We walk into that which we cannot yet see.
Say it plain:
That many have died for this day.
Sing the names of the dead who brought us here,
Who laid the train tracks,
raised the bridges,
picked the cotton and the lettuce
Built brick by brick
the glittering edifices
they would then keep clean
and work inside of.
Praise song for struggle
Praise song for the day
Praise song for every hand-lettered sign,
the figuring it out at kitchen tables
Some live by “love thy neighbor as thyself."
Others by, "first, do not harm,"
or "take no more than you need."
What if
the mightiest word is
Love.
Love beyond marital, filial, national
Love that casts a widening pool of light
Love with no need to preempt grievance
In today's sharp sparkle,
this winter air,
anything can be made
any sentence begun
On the brink...
On the brim...
On the cusp...
Praise song
for walking forward
in that light.
“Praise Song for the Day”
by Elizabeth Alexander
On the occasion of the inauguration of
President Barack Obama
Each day
We go about our business
walking past each other
catching each other’s eyes,
or not,
about to speak or speaking.
All about us is noise,
thorn and din.
Each one of our ancestors on our tongues.
Someone is stitching up a hem,
darning a hole in an uniform,
patching a tire,
repairing the things in need of repair.
Someone is trying to make music somewhere,
with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum
with cello,
boombox,
harmonica,
voice.
A woman and her son wait for the bus,
a farmer considers the changing sky
a teacher says, “take out you pencils, begin."
We encounter each other in words,
words spiny or smooth,
words whispered or declaimed,
words to consider,
reconsider.
We cross dirt roads and highways
that mark the will of someone
and then others that said,
“I need to see what’s on the other side.
I know there’s something better down the road.”
We need to find a place where we are safe.
We walk into that which we cannot yet see.
Say it plain:
That many have died for this day.
Sing the names of the dead who brought us here,
Who laid the train tracks,
raised the bridges,
picked the cotton and the lettuce
Built brick by brick
the glittering edifices
they would then keep clean
and work inside of.
Praise song for struggle
Praise song for the day
Praise song for every hand-lettered sign,
the figuring it out at kitchen tables
Some live by “love thy neighbor as thyself."
Others by, "first, do not harm,"
or "take no more than you need."
What if
the mightiest word is
Love.
Love beyond marital, filial, national
Love that casts a widening pool of light
Love with no need to preempt grievance
In today's sharp sparkle,
this winter air,
anything can be made
any sentence begun
On the brink...
On the brim...
On the cusp...
Praise song
for walking forward
in that light.
posted by Rachel @ 12:50 PM
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